“Then Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has made you well; And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.” Mark 10:52

Who among us has never been ashamed of himself or herself? Who among us hasn’t done things that pain us to think about, and that we would recoil in horror at the thought of others knowing? Most likely we all have been there, haven’t we?

Imagine then what it was like to be Adam and Eve after they had eaten fruit from the forbidden tree! Or when Jacob tricked his father into favoring him over his elder brother and then had to run away from his brother’s anger. How did he sleep at night? And imagine being the woman caught in adultery, 'in the very act’ (John 8:4). David had been there too, and Psalm 32 was his poignant expression and confession of what it had been like.

Of course, that’s one reason the gospel is universal, and Christ’s death was for all humanity. Whatever our differences, surely one thing unites us: our general sinfulness.

How strange that God would ask Adam, “Where are you?” God certainly knew where he was. Perhaps the Lord asked the question to help Adam and Eve realize just what they were doing - hiding – as a result of their sinful actions.

One could argue that the plan of salvation is God’s response to Adam and Eve’s answer. They were hiding from God in the shame and the guilt of their sin and God came to rescue them. In our own ways, we too have done the same thing, and Jesus has come to recuse us. That is, where are you in your sin and guilt, in relationship to Jesus and what He has done to recuse you from it?

Two of John the Baptist followers decided to follow Jesus themselves. And when Jesus asked what they were looking for, they called Him “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher). Jesus, then is a Rabbi, a teacher, but never has there been a human teacher like Him, because, again, He is God. In other words, God came down to humanity in the form of a human being, and in that form, He functioned as a Rabbi, a teacher.

When we truly respond to the Master Teacher, we long to bear his image, breath his spirit, do his will and please him in all things. In the company of Jesus Christ, duty becomes a delight.